Valentine’s tenure as Red Sox manager began with hope that the franchise would soon return to a strong position. But it quickly devolved into a lost season, with the Red Sox registering their worst record since 1965. Look back on how Valentine progressed during his 10 months running the Red Sox:

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The Bobby Valentine era began with mounds of optimism when he was introduced as Red Sox manager on Dec. 1, 2011.

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Valentine arrived in Boston on Nov. 21 for an interview with team officials, and met with reporters afterward.

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The new Red Sox manager was all smiles when he donned his new jersey at his introductory news conference.

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Valentine was so giddy he even slid down a stair rail at Fenway Park.

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A day after his introduction, Valentine traveled to the Dominican Republic, where he participated in David Ortiz's charity golf tournament.

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Valentine shared some laughs with reporters when he met with them at the winter meetings in Dallas Dec. 7.

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Valentine jumped into community service, and represented the Red Sox at the West End House Boys & Girls Club on Dec. 22.

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Valentine quickly became a popular sight in Boston, and was cheered at a Celtics game on Dec. 30.

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The good times seemed to continue at the start of spring training, where laughs were easy to come by as Valentine met with reporters.

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The laughs continued as Valentine watched pitchers throw on the day they reported to camp.

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Valentine and Kevin Youkilis (right) seemed to get off to a good start when they joked around with Red Sox executive vice president/business affairs Jonathan Gilula on Feb. 25.

Valentine had some fun during a visit to the African Caribbean American Center in Fort Myers Feb. 29.

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On the same day, Valentine shared some laughs with David Ortiz during a workout.

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Valentine worked with Mike Aviles during an infield drill in early March. A report later surfaced that the manager and Aviles developed a rift because of a spring incident over an infield drill, but both denied any incident happened.

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On Opening Day in Detroit, optimism still ran high around the Red Sox as Valentine shook hands with Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

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By the end of the opening weekend, Valentine was looking for answers after the Red Sox had been swept in three games in Detroit.

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There were some smiles back at home for Valentine and catcher Kelly Shoppach, as the Red Sox won the home opener, 12-2, against Tampa.

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But on April 16, Valentine faced his first public controversy over critical remarks he made about Kevin Youkilis.

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Youkilis did not play on the day after Valentine's remarks, and sat at the opposite end of the dugout from the manager during that day's loss to Tampa.

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Valentine had to make many slow trips to the mound to make pitching changes. On this one, on April 17, he lifted Jon Lester from an 18-3 loss to Texas.

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Valentine appeared to take a bite out of the ball when he made a pitching change during a loss to Texas April 18.

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In perhaps the Red Sox' worst game of the year, Valentine used six relievers who gave up 14 runs over 3 innings in a 15-9 loss to the Yankees April 21.

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Valentine was left looking for answers during this 4-3 loss in Kansas City May 9.

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On May 25, Valentine had to help settle down his club after a benches-clearing incident against Tampa.

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Valentine met with general manager Ben Cherington before a 9-6 loss to the Blue Jays June 25.

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Valentine watched as the Red Sox lost the second game of a three-game sweep by Oakland July 3.

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Back at home July 18, there was more to celebrate with Cody Ross after defeating the White Sox, 10-1.

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Valentine saw little that he liked in a 9-1 loss at Texas July 23, part of a string of six losses in seven games.

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Media scrutiny was intense all year for Valentine, including in this pregame news conference July 31, as the trade deadline passed.

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Valentine allowed the Globe to profile him Aug. 4, when he spent part of a very busy day bicycling from Wellesley to Wrentham in the Pan-Mass Challenge.

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He caught a few moments of rest in his Fenway Park office before the Aug. 4 game against Minnesota.

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The Aug. 4 game turned into one of the toughest setbacks of the year. Valentine watched as his bullpen allowed four runs in the ninth to the Twins in a 6-4 loss.

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Two days later, Valentine watched batting practice, with his team sitting just a half-game out of last place.

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For a change, the media scrutiny wasn't focused solely on Valentine, as he walked past a scrum of reporters interviewing Cherington Aug. 6.

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The focus was back on Valentine in Baltimore Aug. 14, when a report emerged claiming that players had gone to ownership seeking to have him fired. The Red Sox denied the story.

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Valentine chatted with Adrian Gonzalez in the Fenway Park dugout Aug. 24, a day before the Red Sox finalized a trade sending Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto to the Dodgers.

Sports Illustrated

In early September, Sports Illustrated shined a light on the Red Sox' problems with a front-page photo of Valentine.

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On Sept. 5, hours after a testy exchange in a Boston radio interview, Valentine watched the Red Sox finish one of their worst road trips ever — 1-8 — with a loss in Seattle.

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Valentine removed Clay Buchholz from the game after he allowed a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss to Toronto Sept. 9.

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With his team having lost six of the previous seven games, Valentine looked on early in what would become an 8-5 win in Toronto Sept. 14.

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With his team out of contention, Valentine could only envy the pregame celebration of the Red Sox' 2004 World Series champions Sept. 25.

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Valentine's final act with the Red Sox came in Yankee Stadium Oct. 3. The Red Sox lost the finale, 14-2 — their 12th loss in the season's final 13 games.